Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
